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Slide 2

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Yalta & Potsdam Conferences The Yalta and Potsdam conferences were called to help the Allies decide what would happen to Europe, and in particular Germany, at the end of the Second World War.Yalta - February 1945: Germany was not yetdefeated, so, although there were tensions aboutPoland, the big three - Stalin, Roosevelt andChurchill - managed to agree to split Germany intofour zones of occupation, and to allow freeelections in Eastern European countries. Russia wasinvited to join the United Nations. Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin Potsdam - July 1945: Germany had been defeated, Roosevelt had died and Churchill had lost the 1945 election - so there were open disagreements. Truman came away angry about the size of reparations and the fact that a communist Attlee, Truman and Stalin government was being set up in Poland.…read more

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Soviet expansion in East Europe Country DateAs the Red Army drove the Nazis back, it occupied Albania 1945large areas of Eastern Europe. In the countries that Bulgaria 1945the Red Army "liberated", communist-dominated East Germany 1945governments took power. The Communists made Romania 1947sure that they controlled the army, set up a secretpolice force, and began to arrest their opponents. Poland 1947Non-Communists were gradually beaten, Hungary 1947murdered, executed and terrified out of power. Czechoslovakia 1948 Twenty million Russians died during the Second World War, so Stalin said he wanted a buffer zone of friendly states around Russia to make sure that Russia could never be invaded again.…read more

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1946 Iron Curtain In 1946, in a speech at Fulton in the USA, Churchill declared that an Iron Curtain had come down across Europe, and that Soviet power was growing and had to be stopped. Stalin called Churchill's speech a "declaration of war". In 1947, Stalin set up an alliance of Communist countries designed to make sure they obeyed Soviet rule.…read more

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1947 Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan America was becoming increasingly alarmed by the growth of Soviet power. So, when the British told Truman they could no longer afford to keep their soldiers in Greece, Truman stepped in to take over. In March 1947, he told the American Congress it was America's job to stop communism growing any stronger. This was called the Truman Doctrine. It is often said that Truman advocated containment (stopping the Soviet getting any more powerful), but Truman did not use this word and many Americans spoke of "rolling back" communism. · In June 1947, General George Marshall made a visit to Europe to see what was needed. He came away thinking Europe was so poor that the whole of Europe was about to turn Communist. Marshall and Truman asked Congress for $17 billion to fund the European Recovery Programme nicknamed the Marshall Plan - to get the economy of Europe going again. Congress at first hesitated, but agreed in March 1948 when Czechoslovakia turned Communist. The aid was given in the form of food, grants to buy equipment, improvements to transport systems, and everything "from medicine to mules".…read more

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1949 NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was established in Washington on 4th April, 1949. The treaty, signed by the Foreign Ministers of Belgium, Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and the United States, provided for mutual assistance should any one member of the alliance be attacked. Greece and Turkey joined NATO on 18th February 1952 and the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) on 9th May 1955. Founding members of NATO, 1949 (Hulton Archives, HB-7277).…read more